Wednesday, 28 February 2007

Borriello banned for three months

AC Milan forward Marco Borriello has been banned for three months for doping.

The 24-year-old striker was banned by the Italian Football Federation late Tuesday after traces of prednisolone and prednisone — which are corticosteroids — were found in both his "A" and "B" samples following the team's 2-1 home defeat to Roma on November 11, 2006.

The ban expires on March 21 because Borriello was provisionally suspended in December.

Borriello's girlfriend, Argentine model Belen Rodriguez, reportedly said in January that a cream she had been using unwittingly exposed the striker to the banned substances during sex.

The striker made his Milan debut in 2002 but has subsequently been loaned out by the club and has featured for Empoli, Reggina, Sampdoria and Treviso.

Borriello has played in seven Serie A games this season and three times in the Champions League.

Under Italian doping regulations a player is automatically suspended following a postive first sample but no definitive verdict is issued until after the results of tests on a second sample.

The strict anti-doping regime in the country means two players from each team is tested after every game in the top two divisions.

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